Looking Back at Neon Days Past

 

Neon signs conjure images of days past at illuminated drive-in restaurants glowing orange, red, and blue, but many people don’t realize most all modern signage uses neon.

On this episode of the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast, host Chris Reeves sat down with Rob Fehlman, Director of National Service of Kieffer | Starlite to discuss changes he’s seen in his 15 years in the industry and what’s next for signage.

Kieffer | Starlite is a national sign company that specializes in manufacturing, service, and installation since 1956. In addition to sign installation and repairs for retail and hospitality industries, they do building and parking lot lighting, an essential function for public safety. Today, the Texas-based company has evolved to include LED reader boards.

“When I started here, it was neon exclusively,” Fehlman said. “The industry has made a lot of leaps and changes from there, using incandescent bulbs to doing chasing signs… From neon to LED lighting. from incandescent to full color HD displays. It’s incredible what you can do with LED technology.”

But technology extends beyond the signs themselves. Kieffer | Starlite uses GPS location to help track sign vendors or installers and equips them with iPads and smart tablets in the field so they can upload photos and have manager signoffs.

“There have been huge changes just over the past 12 to 15 years,” Fehlman said.

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